The Purpose of the "Courses" Page

ACCTG 211 Financial and Managerial Accounting for Decision Making is an introductory course that provides a basic understanding of the role of financial and managerial accounting information in the decisions of capital market participants external to a business enterprise (e.g., stockholders, banks, financial analysts, prospective stockholders), and in the decisions of those who manage business enterprises.

Sustainability accounting questions to consider:

• How is the information in sustainability reports used by various decision makers in their resource allocation decisions?
• What are the sustainability aspects adjacent to the traditional aspects within each of the five activity dimensions of accounting?
• How are information analysis techniques, such as return on investment and net present value, impacted by sustainability information?

ACCTG 403W Auditing provides an overview of financial, compliance, internal, and operational audits in addition to standards and procedures, sampling, electronic data processing (EDP) auditing, professional issues, and the application of concepts through written responses.

Sustainability accounting questions to consider:

• What would an audit opinion look like for an integrated or sustainability report?
• Determining materiality is a key step in planning the audit and assessing the risk of material misstatement. Think about how the materiality of sustainability would be incorporated into this process as the field of sustainable assurance continues to advance.
• How would traditional audit procedures differ or remain the same when providing assurance on sustainability information?

ACCTG 404 Managerial Accounting emphasizes the use of accounting information for internal purposes as opposed to the external disclosure focus of the financial accounting course. The course covers the vocabulary and mechanics of cost accounting and the design of management accounting systems for planning and controlling operations, and for motivating personnel.

Sustainability accounting questions to consider:

• List some operational non-financial measures of the social and environmental impacts of the business.
• In developing organizational and individual accountability scorecards, how can the inclusion of financial and non-financial measures (social and environmental impacts) be applied in the firm’s supply/value chain?
• Does the management information system capture both financial and non-financial measures of a firm’s impact on people and the environment?

ACCTG 405 Principles of Taxation provides a basic understanding of the concepts, terminology, and decision-making skills specific to the discipline of taxation that are germane to the professional development of those preparing for a career in accounting. Although the course surveys the many forms of taxation that are found in industrialized societies, and the comparisons thereof, the main focus is on the federal income taxation of individuals.

Sustainability accounting questions to consider:

• Do tax deduction or credit incentives alter the financial evaluation of investments in socially and environmentally preferable alternative (e.g. clean energy) significantly enough to meet firm hurdle rates of return for capital investment?
• Does the tax deduction or credit incentive (or disincentive) for environmental remediation costs incurred or accrued facilitate company sustainability objectives?
• How might transfer pricing be used to optimize the tax efficiency and country sustainable development goals?

ACCTG 471 Intermediate Financial Accounting I provides students with an understanding of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and procedures so that they properly account for and present information in financial statements prepared for external users.

Sustainability accounting questions to consider:

• As companies implement sustainability accounting policies under frameworks that differ from GAAP, what considerations must be evaluated to ensure proper application of GAAP for traditional financial reporting?
• Identify 2-3 instances where sustainability accounting frameworks differ from GAAP and what the reporting implications would be to a company.
• How can accountants revisit traditional GAAP reporting framework limitations (rules based) in favor of sustainability-centric framework reporting? What would be the risks to the capital markets and investor confidence in reporting in cases where, for example, a new framework allows for too much management subjectivity and thus increases the risk of reporting bias? 

ACCTG 472 Intermediate Financial Accounting II covers off-balance-sheet financing; special issues in cost capitalization, liabilities, and equities; matching; funds flow statements; statement analysis, and inflation accounting.

Sustainability accounting questions to consider:

• What components of pension plan accounting might be impacted by investment in sustainability and how could this benefit both the companies providing the plans and the employees participating in the plans?
• Think about how the sustainability performance of a subsidiary company could affect the reporting of the parent company using the traditional investment methods (cost method, equity method, consolidations) and the valuation of goodwill.
• How could sustainability information be used alongside financial information in basic financial statements, and in what form could this information appear?